The BOSM English Press had the opportunity to interview Soham Deshmukh, the Captain of the newly formed mixed martial arts (MMA) team, to learn about their preparations for the upcoming sports fest. 

Soham began by explaining that until last year, there had only been a Taekwondo team. Over time, they had gathered enough members to begin a separate MMA team this time. The team trained in any and all martial arts, such as kickboxing, boxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, among others, but their main focus was on jiu-jitsu. 

In BOSM 2025, they would be competing in a submission grappling event and also in semi-contact fighting. The first event would primarily involve jiu-jitsu, but Soham said that other martial arts like judo could also be implemented. The goal was to make your opponent submit in any legal way possible. The other event was similar to the first but also involved elements such as punching and kicking.

The Captain elaborated that there was also a scoring system in place. Giving examples, he said that throwing an opponent or managing to get on top of them would earn a participant two points each. At the end of the fight, the combatant with the highest points would win. If either participant managed to get their opponent to submit, they received an immediate victory. 

The team’s main focus was on exploring their own combat styles and figuring out the methods they were most comfortable with. Soham said that they didn’t practice specifically to accumulate points; their focus was on the sport, not competition-specific guidelines.

The Captain shared that the team had been training since they arrived on campus. They participated in the Rajasthan state jiu-jitsu competition at the start of the semester and transitioned their training towards BOSM after they returned. He also shared that the team was trained ‘smart’. The threat of permanent injuries and brain damage was high. In accordance with this, the members limited their strength during practice and prioritised the mastering of technique. 

Soham said, ‘The only place you should try to hurt your opponent is in competitions, not in the training room.’ He was thankful that they had no injuries this time and that their team was in good shape. 

When asked about his experience as a Captain, he said that since it’s the first time an MMA team had been established, he felt lucky to be leading it as its Captain. He saw it as an opportunity to help people learn more and spread awareness about MMA. While he appreciated the Taekwondo team, he’s hopeful MMA will get more time in the limelight now that it is a separate team. 

Finally, he encouraged people to pick up MMA as a sport, claiming that ‘it was good for both the mind and body,’ and said that he looked forward to competing in the upcoming sports fest.